KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The 11th-ranked Kutztown University wrestling team heads into the season with a tremendous amount of momentum behind them as they open the 2024-25 season this weekend.
The Golden Bears finished last season with a 5-2 dual record, finishing third in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference while earning a first-place finish at the Fairmont State Invitational. KU came in third at the NCAA Super Region I Championships with 113.5 points, headlined by a 184-pound title from
Matthew Weinberg (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan).
Their mark last year, as well as their returning squad, earned them an 11th-place ranking in the National Wrestling Coaches Association poll on Monday, tied with the 2021-22 squad for the highest preseason ranking in program history.
Kutztown's position in the poll is helped by the success of five individuals ranked in the top 12 of their weight classes, led by the redshirt senior Weinberg, who is slotted in as the second-best wrestler in the 184-pound class. Also in the top 10 is redshirt junior
Bailey Gimbor (Bernville, Pa./Hamburg), who claimed third in the 157-pound weight class, and brother
Dalton Gimbor (Bernville, Pa./Hamburg), who sits in seventh in the 165-pound class. 149-pound wrestler
Jimmy Ryan (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell), a redshirt senior transfer from Gannon, earned 10th in the rankings following his third-place performance after finishing third at the Super Region I Championships, while
Wayne McIntyre (East Stroudsburg, Pa./East Stroudsburg North) holds the 11th position in the 197-pound class.
Kutztown's preseason ranking marks the first time in program history that the Golden Bears enter the season as the lone team sitting in 11th. No. 8 Gannon is the highest ranked Super Region 1 team, followed by No. 10 Pitt-Johnstown and No. 11 Kutztown.
The Golden Bears have six PSAC duals throughout the course of the season, beginning with a Friday night meeting with Seton Hill on Dec. 6 at 7 p.m. KU will take part in three tournaments, starting with the ESU Open this weekend, followed by Indianapolis' 45th Midwest Classic (Dec. 14-15) and the Virginia Duals (Jan. 10-11) at the Hampton Coliseum.
Keystone Arena will host five duals for Kutztown's wrestling team, with Felician coming to town on Dec. 19. A second non-conference matchup will take place against American International before KU welcomes PSAC foes Gannon, Millersville and Shippensburg in the first three weekends of February.
The postseason will see the Golden Bears travel to Johnstown, Pa., to compete in the NCAA Super Region I Championships on Mar. 1 with the goal of reaching the NCAA DII Championships at Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis, Ind., on Mar. 14-15.
The Golden Bears open the season at the 57th ESU Open on Sunday, Nov. 3, at 10 a.m. at East Stroudsburg's Koehler Fieldhouse. They host their first dual of the season against Felician on Thursday, Dec. 19, at 7 p.m. at Keystone Arena.
